Second District Congressman Erico Aris Aumentado is in favor of having barangay officials replaced by representatives chosen by the Duterte administration.
This, if the replacement would include village officials involved in illegal drug activities, Aumentado said.
The implementation of the measure is still based on speculations from other congressmen however.
According to Aumentado, other members of the House of Representatives have speculated that barangay officials across the country are already being axed for involvement in drug activities.
Aumentado said that removing barangay officials who are also drug personalities from their office would help rid villages in Bohol of narcotics trade.
The congressman also believes that there are village officials in Bohol’s second legislative district who are involved in illegal drug activities.
On Tuesday, a barangay councilor in the village of Liberty in Bien Unido was arrested through a drug buy-bust operation.
Police identified the village official as Emmanuel Gonzales, 43, who is a resident of the said barangay.
He was arrested by units of the Provincial Intelligence Branch and Bien Unido police through a joint operation.
According to Insp. Librado Bigcas, chief of the Bien Unido police, 16 packets of shabu were recovered from the possession of the village legislator.
Bigcas said that Gonzales is a high-value target as the suspect is an official.
Gonzales is a newly known drug personality in the town but he has allegedly been running illegal drug operations for a long time.
Bigcas noted that Gonzales came up as one of the suspected dealers in Bien Unido as the number of other alleged pushers in the town dwindled.
Users reportedly started to buy from Gonzales while the suspect previously only sold his supply outside of the town.
This drew the police’s attention and eventually prompted the authorities to set up an anti-drug operation against him.
Gonzales is currently jailed at the detention facility of Camp Dagohoy in Tagbilaran City. (Allen Doydora)